New Music Mondays | 04.23.18

Finals week got you down? Take a much needed break and check out the songs below! #NMM

‘Alcohol’ – FIDLAR

“FIDLAR loves drugs, alcohol and a good time. If the fact that their name stands for ‘Fuck it Dog, Life’s a Risk’ doesn’t solidify their edginess enough for you, their new single ‘Alcohol’ definitely will. Now, I’m a fan of garage rock & surf punk. I love a nice dirty guitar riff and some yelling that’s fun to get beat up to in a packed venue. But this song… It’s just too much. I get being angsty and fed up with the world (especially having been an emo kid in a suburban high school), yet there’s a way to do it that’s not screaming at your parents and getting super drunk in the parking lot of your school. And that’s exactly what FIDLAR sounds like they’re doing here. Vocalist Zac Carper is 30 years old and writing lyrics like ‘Get the fuck out my way / And did you think I wanna hear what you have to say?’ and ‘I stay out of your way if you stay out of my way / ‘Cause I don’t wanna listen to your shit every day.’ The chorus is all about wanting to be super drunk because the world sucks. It’s the same thing they’ve been doing for the past 9 years, but being 21 and 30 are two very different things. And when you’re a recovered addict screaming about wanting to be alone with your alcohol, it starts sounding more sad than anything else. It sounds like everything FIDLAR has done before and is actually pretty fun musically, but it’s time for them to start growing up.” – Ingrid Angulo

‘Honeycomb‘ – Deafheaven

“Deafheaven is back with another long, distorted epic. ‘Honeycomb’ sums up pretty much everything the band has done well until now: it’s a lengthy, shape-shifting song that combines a punishing black metal/shoegaze fusion with inexplicably lovely arrangements and dreamy guitar jams. It’s a sound that can take some getting used to. ‘Honeycomb’ especially might give you some pretty severe whiplash when it pivots from oppressive walls of distortion at around 7:30 to a lovely outro that sounds like something off a Slowdive album. Frontman George Clark’s unintelligible screaming stops cold, and you almost forget that the black metal part even happened. In other words, classic Deafheaven. ‘Honeycomb’ doesn’t stray too far from what the band has been doing since 2011, so I’m hoping the rest of their upcoming album, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, will push the boundaries of Deafheaven’s sound just a little farther.” – Craig Short

‘Basement‘ – Russ

“The king of self-production is back at it again with his new track, ‘Basement,’ a broken-hearted, bass heavy ballad featuring Canadian singer, Jessie Reyez, lamenting a pre-fame relationship of which he never recovered from. Reminiscent of his Pink Elephant days, the slow pulsing bass-clap that echoes throughout the track gives way for the vocal’s nostalgic reverb. Based off of his track record (literally), Reyez’s feature on the song is a rare occurrence for Russ as he prides himself on his complete self-sufficiency, however, the layered falsetto that she and Russ’ vocals create initiate a sound hardly explored by Russ in the past. Could this subtle alteration mean there are more features in our future? Though unclear if this track will become part of a larger project, there is likely more to come from Russ in the coming weeks.” – Paige Ardill

‘Come Thru‘ – Stefan James

“18 year old rapper Stefan James may release his music on the SoundCloud platform, but make no mistake, he transcends any preconceived notions of a ‘SoundCloud rapper’. For the past few months, James has been dropping singles that are dialed-in displays of raw talent. These singles culminated in the dropping of his first project entitled, Basalt, a sharp and focused EP. Instrumentally, the project’s sound is cohesive with moody beats across the 6 track runtime. One stand out track is ‘Come Thru’ with its hard hitting percussion and phenomenal flow. Detroit has a history of producing successful rappers. For example, think Danny Brown, Eminem, and Big Sean. Keep watching Stefan James because he could be the next name to be added to the list of Detroit greats.” – Joey Molloy

‘The Story Of Yum Yum and Dragon‘ – The Flaming Lips

“For Record Store Day this year, the Flaming Lips have released a new single, ‘The Story of Yum Yum and Dragon.’ It’s a slow ballad that tells the tale of two friends, Yum Yum and Dragon who go on an adventure together that ends rather poorly, but not without a valuable lesson learned. The song’s sound is not too far off from much of the material off of their most recent album, Oczy Mlody. The concept of the song comes from a new beer from Dogfish Head Brewery called Dragons and YumYums. The whole Record Store Day release is a collaboration between the brewery and the band. The song was released on a colored 7″ record pressed with the actual beer inside it. Overall, the song is forgettable and not much more than a gimmick, but watching the band members act out the story in the music video is quite entertaining.” – Spencer LaChance

‘For A Little While‘ – Good Morning

“The two members of Good Morning, Stefan Blair and Liam Parsons, have been releasing new singles in pairs, in anticipation for their first full-length album, Prize // Reward. ‘Escalator’ and Mirror Freak’ came first, followed recently by ‘Just A Man’ and ‘For A Little While’. The latter track moves steadily along with a hypnotic backing beat, while hazy, lulling vocals start almost immediately, but take their time filling spaces of the song. Longer instrumental sections break up the lyrics, with an especially sumptuous saxophone solo occupying the second third of the song. As any good son would do, Blair features his father Glenn as the aforementioned sax player on the track, and knowing that fact seems to make listening to the song that much more enjoyable.

‘For A Little While’ is a dichotomy of ticking angst and floating nonchalance. It pulls you in and then makes you wait. You don’t know what you are waiting for, but you don’t mind listening to the melodies that drift by. Good Morning’s Prize // Reward is out on May 11th, and the singles released so far indicate a promising and well-thought out full-length debut. ” – Casey Martin

Ingrid Angulo is a third year international affairs major from Long Island and WRBB's promotions manager. When she's not fighting people about bagels and pizza or posting pictures of Kermit the Frog on WRBB's socials, she can be found taking photos or binge-watching bad reality TV.